Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 369 I Want to Go to Elementary School!
Meanwhile, inside the Sugamo apartment building.

Fushimi Shika received a message from Minamoto no Tamako. Looking at the long, densely packed text messages about the school, he found it annoying and simply forwarded it with a 0-key forward so that Hirai Sakurako could see it herself.

"So, is there anything you like?"

Fushimi Shika lay half-reclined on the sofa, changing the dressing on his calf.

After carefully reading it for a while, Hira Sakurako said decisively, "Waseda Vocational School, that's it."

"Why?" Fushimi Shika asked, slightly surprised.

“It has the most club facilities, and most of the basic leagues or training matches are held at this school. If Sunflower’s sister is in a club, she is very likely to participate in the competition… I have a higher probability of finding her,” Ping Yingzi analyzed rationally.

“I see,” Fushimi Shika picked up his phone, his gaze shifting downwards. “Wow! The registration fee alone is 30,000 yen… Hmm, so it’s not like you can just get in by paying the registration fee? What does ‘integrated system’ mean?”

"It's a 12-year integrated school encompassing elementary, middle, and high school, and it's an affiliated school of Waseda University." Hira Sakurako knelt beside the coffee table, eating pudding.

"Eh~"

Fushimi Shika drew out her words, thinking that the admission requirements for this kind of school must be quite high. The tuition fee was probably just the threshold; they might also screen parents' occupations, conduct entrance exams, and check past records... Hira Sakurako would probably be rejected as soon as her medical records were checked.

"What does 'eh' mean?" Hira Sakurako noticed that his tone was unusual.

"Well, let me put it more tactfully," Fushimi Shika said, pouring alcohol on his leg, "this school probably doesn't accept kids with mental problems."

It was a fact that she had congenital high-functioning autism. Ping Yingzi didn't find the words offensive. She licked the patch box, frowned in thought, and said, "I can pretend to be a normal person."

"Really?" Fushimi Shika wiped his calf with gauze. "Then give me a smile."

"Pretend to be a cool elementary school student," Hira Sakurako corrected.

"What the hell is this 'cold-blooded elementary school student' thing?" Fushimi Shika couldn't help but complain.

Hira Sakurako explained, "A 'cool elementary school student' doesn't mean a ghost; it means someone who is elementary school age, has a cool personality, and is naturally not fond of smiling..."

“I know what you mean,” Fushimi Shika waved her hand, not wanting to argue with her. “Then give me a cry.”

"Even a cold-blooded elementary school student won't cry." Hira Sakura has completely embraced the new character.

"That won't do. If you can't cry or laugh, aren't you still a weirdo? People can tell there's something wrong with you at a glance!"

Fushimi Shika finished bandaging his wound, pulled down his trouser leg, and burned the used bandage in the ashtray: "What if something happens and you get agitated and hide back in the cardboard box?"

"No, I've mastered the law of the jungle. What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger." Ping Yingzi patted the back of her waistband, where a police gun was tucked.

Fushimi Shika had almost forgotten about this incident. He immediately retrieved his police gun, gave him a stern lecture, and then said, "What kind of elementary school student carries a gun to school? With your attitude, you'd be in trouble even at elementary school, let alone Waseda!"

“I won’t let them find out I’m carrying a gun,” Hira Sakurako argued.

"It's not a matter of whether it's discovered or not, it's a matter of the risk not being proportional to the reward," Fushimi Shika earnestly lectured. "Think about it carefully, is the risk of being discovered carrying a firearm proportional to the benefit of carrying a firearm?"

"Safety is very important..."

“I know you lack a sense of security, but you need to make a rational judgment, understand? Don’t let fear interfere with your judgment,” Fushimi Shika waved away the smoke from the fire. “Calm down and think about it again. Should you bring a gun to school?”

Ping Yingzi was silent for a moment: "It shouldn't have been like that."

"Are you just fooling me, or do you really think that way?" Fushimi Shika asked.

“If I were trying to fool you, why would I tell you the truth?” Hira Sakurako retorted.

Fushimi Shika was too lazy to argue with this guy. After the bandage burned to ashes, he took the ashtray into the bathroom, poured the ashes into the toilet, and flushed it clean. He casually warned, "Don't tell Minamoto Tamako, or we'll both be finished."

Ping Yingzi narrowed her eyes and said, "One thing at a time. If you want me to keep this a secret, you have to send me to school."

As a dying man, Fushimi Shika was not buying it and said that if she wanted to expose him, so be it; at worst, everyone would suffer together.

Seeing the deal fail, Hirayuko wasn't discouraged. She chewed on the pudding box, carefully considering a solution:

What exactly defines a "normal" person?

“Like this!” Fushimi Shika gave a thumbs-up, pointing to his own nose.

"..."

Hira Sakurako looked Fushimi Shika up and down. She went back to her room, took out paper and pen from a cardboard box, and earnestly asked, "Did you have many friends in elementary school?"

"Not many." Fushimi Shika was too lazy to lie.

"How many exactly?" Ping Yingzi asked, bowing her head to take notes.

"Half."

"Half a person? You cut your friend into pieces?"

“How could that be! I imagined a friend myself, so it’s half a friend.” Fushimi Shika said seriously, “Every boy imagines a friend to accompany him. For example, Guan Gu Shenqi has Super Mario by his side.”

"Who is Guan Gu Shenqi?" Ping Yingzi felt strange knowledge enter her brain.

"It's not important." Fushimi Shika slumped back onto the sofa and turned on the TV with the remote.

Hira Sakurako jotted down the word "reclusive" in her notebook and continued asking a bunch of random questions. Fushimi Shika felt something was off as he listened; the questions sounded familiar. He couldn't help but turn around and ask, "Where did you collect all these random questions from?"

"A direct copy of the IPDE, the International Personality Disorder Assessment Scale, plus some questions that I personally find interesting..."

Ping Yingzi lowered her head and continued writing and drawing: "I've asked almost all the questions, and your score seems to be lower than mine." "Correction, there is definitely an error." Fushimi Shika pouted and lazily changed the TV channel: "Actually, the standard for judging a normal person is very simple. As long as the people who are with you can't tell that you are really mentally ill, you are a normal person."

"Really?" Hira Sakurako asked skeptically.

"Of course it's true. There are actually many people with intellectual disabilities in this world, but they can all take care of themselves, so they live as normal people... You'll know once you come into contact with more of them."

"Oh……"

Hira Sakurako understood that if she wanted to enroll in school, she had to first disguise herself so that others wouldn't notice that she was an outsider.

She went back to her room and practiced in front of the mirror, constantly imitating Minamoto no Tamako's expressions.

At that moment, Fushimi Shika's phone vibrated again, presumably a message from Minamoto Tamako urging him to answer.

He had a headache. Dragging it out any longer wouldn't work. Once Yuan Yuzi came back, she would definitely turn into a nagging monk and keep nagging. He might as well cut the Gordian knot and get Yingzi enrolled in school as soon as possible, so as to save him from running around looking for schools.

"How about I make an appointment for you now and ask what the admission requirements are? If it doesn't work out, we can choose another option," he called out as he turned around.

“No, it has to be Waseda Vocational School.” Hira Sakurako replied firmly from inside the room.

Fushimi Shikashin thought this guy was a real pain, but he didn't bother arguing with him and went straight to the admissions hotline to inquire about the details. The operator, an older man, patiently asked for his name, type of inquiry, and appointment time. He then explained that the admissions brochure would be released every May or June, and that he could attend a school information session at that time to arrange his child's enrollment.

It was early April, and Fushimi Shika thought it wouldn't hurt to wait another month or two. But then, the operator abruptly changed the subject, saying that if it was a transfer student, they would need to contact the academic affairs office in advance and pay a consultation fee.

Fushimi Shika said that money was not a problem; although he had no money, it didn't stop him from pretending to be rich.

"In that case, Mr. Fushimi, you can leave your phone number and come to our school for consultation after school at 3 PM..."

"Is there anything I need to prepare?"

"No need, it's just a regular consultation. It's best to bring your child along so that the parents, the school, and the child can discuss the enrollment process together."

Fushimi Shika let out a soft "hmph," exchanged a few polite words, and then hung up the phone.

Ping Yingzi had been eavesdropping on his phone call ever since he started. Only now, after he hung up, did she ask, "Do I have to go too?"

"What else?" Fushimi Shika got up to change his clothes.

"What am I supposed to do?" Ping Yingzi didn't want to go, but she couldn't openly say that she didn't want to go out.

"You think they really just want to chat with you? They charge a consultation fee just for chatting?"

Fushimi Shika casually took off his pajamas, tossed them onto the sofa, and went back to his room: "This is an interview, understand? 'Inquiring about enrollment matters' is just a euphemism. If we showed up like hooligans, they probably wouldn't even give us a chance to take the exam."

"What a grand display." Hirayuko was very dissatisfied, and mocked like a little adult.

"What else? You chose this prestigious school yourself. It's not too late to back out and go to an elementary school... Never mind, don't back out. I'm too lazy to take you around." Fushimi Shika casually closed the door: "I'm going to change my clothes, don't peek."

"Do you think everyone likes you as much as Tamako does?"

Ping Yingzi crossed her arms, sat on the sofa, tilted her head and thought for a while before deciding to bite the bullet and go for it.

After all, she had made a promise with Sunflower that she would find her sister.

Going to school is nothing difficult. It's not like she hasn't studied at home.

But she's never interacted with people her own age before...

To be precise, she has actually spent a very small number of time with people, which can be counted on two hands.

"The outside world" is a very abstract concept. If it is just the "outside" in terms of space, she has been able to overcome it; but when it comes to the "outside" in terms of interpersonal relationships, she is still uneasy and fearful.

Don't be afraid, Sakura, Sunflower is protecting you!

Sooner or later, you will become an excellent hunter and conquer the jungle called society!
Hira Sakura cheered herself up and returned to her room, looking around for an 'interview' outfit. She found that all she had was a cute and adorable set of pajamas... The only thing she could wear out was the overalls that Gentama had bought for her.

"I should have bought a suit..."

Hira Sakurako silently regretted her actions.

Fushimi Shika spent two hours catching fish in his room, and it wasn't until almost three o'clock that he changed his clothes; Hira Sakurako had no choice but to wear overalls, and to avoid being seen by others, she even wore a sun hat.

Both of them reluctantly went out. Fushimi Shika looked like an old man with a limp, while Hira Sakurako looked like a dwarf sneaking into a burglary. The two of them took the elevator one after the other, went downstairs, crossed the street, retrieved their wheelchairs, and walked to Ikebukuro.

"Hurry up!" Fushimi Shika, sitting in his wheelchair, turned and scolded, "If you're late, you'll lose points!"

Hira Sakurako was behind him, pushing the wheelchair with great effort.

They rushed as fast as they could and finally arrived at the school before three o'clock.

Fushimi Shika placed the wheelchair in the parking space, shifted his weight to his left foot, and slowly walked towards the school gate. Someone from the academic affairs office greeted him, and the two followed him into the school.

As Fushimi Shika passed by the playground, he noticed that some kind of event was taking place there. A group of people had gathered, and there were candles, flowers, photos, hand-drawn picture books and other miscellaneous items on the ground. The atmosphere looked quite heavy, and some elementary school students were even crying loudly.

Before he could ask, the teacher explained, "Recently, one of the school's teachers had an accident, and the students spontaneously organized a memorial service..."

Upon hearing this, Hira Sakurako instinctively grabbed Fushimi Shika's sleeve.

Fushimi Shika could feel that Hira Sakurako's hands were trembling.

(End of this chapter)